Chart of the Day

— Brad Plumer provides this chart from a new Department of Housing and Urban Development report on homelessness, showing that the number of homeless people (in blue) had fallen 9% since 2007.

“What’s behind the overall drop? Some experts have given credit to a concerted push against homelessness by both the federal government and local communities — a push that began with President George W. Bush in 2005… The Bush administration’s solution was simple: Just give people a place to live. For free.”

“Progress has been uneven around the country… There were huge increases in homelessness in some cities last year. Los Angeles saw a 27 percent jump in homelessness in 2012, while New York had a 13 percent increase.”